The pattern of residential segregation is undergoing two crucial changes in Chilean cities: its geographical scale is shifting, and segregations malignancy is increasing. Seemingly, these changes are affecting most of Latin American cities. They are linked to the land markets liberalization policies and to the processes of economic and cultural globalization of the past decades. This paper presents empirical data showing the effects of these changes for three Chilean cities (Santiago, Valparaíso, Concepción); and theoretically discusses the relationship between social inequality and spatial segregation, rejecting the usual approach that considers the latter as a mere spatial reflection of the first